


Love It Too Much

by SweepyRose



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21866044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweepyRose/pseuds/SweepyRose
Summary: Discover a new side of the Spring Troupe member Masumi as he goes on a journey to focus on himself and not his dear Izumi. Will he be able to change for the better, or succumb to his old ways?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	1. Sudden Tragedy

Today was the same as usual, the Spring Troupe was finished with rehearsals and Izumi was spending time in the living room. She decided to review the script more for the next show. Yes, the script was written gold as always, but something felt missing. Like, it had to do with the script, but wasn't the script itself…

"Hey, Izumi."

Before she could ponder more about it, she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Masumi." she gave a tired smile, trying to be polite.

"What are you doing?" the teenage boy hovered over Izumi's head to look.

She lifted the papers she was holding. "The script."

Masumi raised an eyebrow. "Why? Aren't the roles already sorted?"

"Yes, but I can't help but feel something's… missing."

"Missing?" he echoed. "Like a line's gone or something?"

"No, the script itself is written beautifully. Tsuzuru did a great job!" Izumi beamed.

Masumi pouted. "I could write a script better than that…"

Izumi shrugged off Masumi's remark, he always said stuff like that. "And since Kazunari made the flyers, the advertising's sure to go well!" she went on about how the other troupes were helping with the upcoming show. "And the costume's Yuki made are-"

"Shut up."

Izumi's eyes widened, looking at a very irritated Masumi. Her heart stopped out of shock. "H-Huh…?"

"I said shut up!" Masumi scowled. "You're always praising other guys! Why do you never look at me?"

"That's not what I meant-"

"I would do anything and everything for you, and you never give me the time of day!" he looked pained. "I love you so much that it hurts…!"

He turned the other way. "They all said something, didn't they? They said something to make you hate me…"

Izumi turned to him, concerned and frightened. "What are you talking about!?"

Suddenly, Masumi grabbed Izumi by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Why don't you love me?"

Izumi shuddered, what was she going to say? What could she say? Sure, Masumi got mad at times, but never at this scale…

"Because you act like this." she managed to spit out, pushing the boy away from her. "It's because you always cling to me! And say creepy stuff like this! Why do you act this way!?"

Masumi stood silent with the most appalled look on his face. Izumi gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "I-I'm sorry..! I didn't mean…"

Before she could apologize, Masumi ran to his dorm, shutting the door behind him with a loud thud. The woman just stood there, trying to comprehend what just happened. What if this affects Masumi's performance? What if this show fails?

She decided to go to sleep and find a way to deal with it tomorrow. Izumi went to her dorm and tucked herself in bed, silently praying this would all sort itself out.


	2. Spying Bounty

The next morning seemed nothing out of the ordinary. Taichi was setting the plates and silverware on the dining table while Omi was preparing breakfast. Izumi came from the hallway, yawning and stretching.

"Wow, Izumi, rare to see you that tired." Omi gave a concerned look. "Everything okay?"

"More or less," she rubbed her drowsy eyes, "it's probably nothing…"

"If that's the case, take a seat right there. Breakfast is coming soon!" Omi gave a cheerful smile.

Izumi nodded and sat at the dining table, resting her tired head on her arms. Taichi was setting the last plate when he caught a glimpse of Izumi's expression. "Um, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Maybe it's because she's hearing you yapping so early in the morning."

Izumi raised her head to see Yuki and Muku, dressed for school. Followed by Tenma and Juza, also in uniform. She almost forgot the students ate first before they went to school.

"C'mon Yuki, always so harsh…" Tenma glared at the shorter boy.

"Like you have room to talk, hag." Yuki glared at Tenma.

"O-Oh, breakfast looks yummy!" Muku spoke nervously, trying to prevent another fight. "Let's go have a seat!"

One by one, the kids sat at the table and breakfast was served. Izumi just stared at her plate as the boys were talking. Soon, a cup of coffee was suddenly placed next to her, she looked up to Omi who had just prepared it. He gave a comforting smile and went back to the kitchen to cook for the adults. She smiled too, and soon took a sip of the drink, slapping her out of her drowsiness.

"Hey, where's Banri and Sakuya?" Tenma pointed out.

"Dunno, but I'm glad that asshole isn't here." Juza spoke bluntly, referring to his rival Banri.

Muku suddenly got panicked. "Wh-What if they got kidnapped by an alien race wanting to harvest human knowledge!? And they were going to use it to destroy Earth and-!"

"You read way too much manga." Yuki sighed before taking another bite of food.

Izumi tilted her head. "Still, I can't help but wonder-"

"Is breakfast ready?" Banri had just entered the room.

"Speak of the devil!" Taichi gawked, while Juza just grunted and looked away.

"Good morning, Banri!" Izumi greeted with a smile. "Do you know where Sakuya is?"

Banri nodded. "Yeah, he's with Tsuzuru trying to wake Masumi up."

Tenma seemed confused. "What?"

"They've been trying to wake him up for half an hour now." Banri pulled out his seat and sat in it, facing his food. "Seriously, natto again!?"

"You need to eat healthy, you know." Omi responded from the kitchen.

Banri rolled his eyes while reluctantly grabbing a pair of chopsticks. "Fine."

Izumi looked extremely worried. Was this because of her? She stood up and pushed her chair in. "I'll check on them, I'll be right back."

"Alright, tell 'em to meet with me out front so we can go to school together." Banri quickly scarfed his breakfast and grabbed his backpack.

"Muku and I need to get going too," Yuki got up from his chair and gestured for him to follow, "see ya." The two younger boys went out the front door, followed by the boys who went to Ouka High.

Izumi made her way to Tsuzuru and Masumi's dorm, opening the door with a bit of hesitation. "Hello?" she walked through to see Sakuya, Tsuzuru, and Citron.

"Oh, Izumi, thank goodness." Tsuzuru sighed out of relief and pointed to a sleeping Masumi. "Think you could help us out?"

"Masumi hasn't been waking up and we tried everything!" Sakuya looked worried. "Like turning on the alarm clock, shaking him…"

"I even sang the waking songs of my country, but he's still like Spying Bounty!" Citron weeped.

"You mean Sleeping Beauty, where did you even get Spying Bounty from?" Tsuzuru gave a bewildered look.

"Itaru went to get Sakyo, but I'm sure you talking to him will work!" Sakuya smiled. "He always responds to the sound of your voice!"

"I don't think he will this time…" Izumi looked at the floor, thinking about last night.

"Why not?" Citron asked.

"Well…" she explained what had happened, and soon they all looked just as nervous as she was.

"That's not good…" Sakuya sighed.

"I get where you're coming from though, he's creepy when it comes to you." Tsuzuru spoke.

"What are you talking about?" Itaru opened the door, he was with Sakyo. "By the way, I brought the quest item, is he still needed?"

Citron nodded. "Yes! We need him baldly!"

Tsuzuru cleared his throat. "He means badly!"

Sakyo shook his head with an annoyed look. "Sakuya, go to school with Banri. This sorry excuse is no reason to be late."

Sakuya nodded firmly and walked out of the room.

The yakuza then went to the edge of Masumi's bed.

"Wake up you little shit." he sneered.

Still asleep.

"Get up or there will be hell to pay!"

Yep, still asleep.

"Get your damn ass up before I kick it out the window!"

Most would get up by now, but not Masumi.

"That's it, I'm killing him." Sakyo clenched his fist, aggravated.

"What!? Don't do that!" Izumi ran up to him and looked at Masumi. "Masumi please get up!"

"...I don't want to wake up…" the boy groaned in his sleep. "...just let me die."

"D-Die!?" Izumi gasped, she knew Masumi would be upset over this but wasn't expecting that big a reaction. "You really want to die!?"

"...you hate me, right?" Masumi turned away from her as he adjusted himself in the bed. "...that makes me feel heartbroken. If you hate me, what's the point? I should just lie down and die."

"Well said." Sakyo stated passive aggressively, giving him a shove from Izumi.

"Masumi I'm sorry for what I said, it was sudden and I was way too harsh." she knew she needed to choose her words carefully, especially with him.

The young boy bolted from under his blankets. "So, you don't hate me?"

"I don't."

"So do you love me-"

"But I meant what I said." Izumi spoke sternly. "You're way too attached to me and this affects not only you, but the people around you." she crossed her arms. "This continues to affect our shows, which I can't allow."

Masumi was disheartened. "But-"

"From now on, I want you to focus on yourself and not me, even if this cuts into your rehearsals." Izumi pointed at him to bring emphasis.

"Oof, mission failed for him." Itaru muttered.

Citron watched the scene in front of him like a movie. "Yes, a fission mailed indeed!"

Tsuzuru gave a confused glance at Citron, who, like always, saw nothing wrong with what he just said.

"I'll monitor him." Sakyo spoke up eagerly.

"It won't interfere with your work?" Izumi asked.

"I could always have Sakoda do it, besides," Sakyo gave Masumi a menacing glare, "I want to put him in his place."

"Uhhhh…" Izumi was speechless, was this really the best idea? Well, nothing else would really work, she nodded. "Sure, he's all yours."

Itaru chuckled. "Today is just not his day, RIP Masumi." he started to walk out the door. "Anyway, everyone wanna get breakfast?"

Tsuzuru and Citron nodded and went with Itaru, and as soon as Izumi said she was going as well…

"I'll have breakfast too." Masumi said, almost out of second nature.

"Hell no, do you know how late you are?" Sakyo showed the boy his watch. "You're getting a packed lunch, just don't pass out during class."

"Will the lunch be made by Izumi-?"

"No."


	3. Start of the Challenge

(From here it's switches to more of Masumi's POV)

Right now Sakyo was driving a tired Masumi to school, the air was tense enough to cut with a knife. Amongst the silence, he released a yawn.

"You have no damn right to yawn, you were sleeping for an hour." Sakyo spoke sharply.

"Whatever…" Masumi couldn't feel bothered at this point, the worst has already happened to him. No matter how he tried to distract himself, all his mind could see was Izumi yelling at him… then this.

The car stopped in front of Hanasaki High and Masumi opened the door.

"You're welcome." Sakyo's voice was laced with sarcasm as Masumi closed the door and the car drove away.

_Glad that's over with,_ Masumi thought as he turned to the school building. He went through the entrance gate then navigated the halls on the way to his class. As he walked into the classroom, his teacher was in the middle of role call.

"Usui, Masumi-"

"Here."

The teacher quickly turned to Masumi. "You're quite lucky, aren't you? You were almost late." he adjusted his glasses. "Now, go to your seat please." he pointed to the desk as he checked off the boy's name.

As he made his way to his desk, he heard girls whispering. Mainly they were talking about how glad they were that he was coming to school today, or how cute they thought he was. Masumi couldn't help but roll his eyes, all he cared about was Izumi. Then, once again, that horrid memory invaded his mind, seemingly eating at him during morning classes.

Later, the ring of the noon bell was a saving grace. Masumi stood right up his desk and walked into the hall, where he was met with a group of girls. "Uh, umm… M-Masumi…?" one of the girls spoke in a shy voice. "W-Will you come eat with us…?"

"No." Masumi answered bluntly and walked to the stairs to get to a lower floor, not caring how those students felt.

He made it to the first floor when two boys make their way to him, it was Banri and Sakuya.

"Masumi, hey!" Banri greeted. "Finally awake, huh?"

"We're having lunch together, do you want to come?" Sakuya brightly asked. Masumi gave them the same answer. 

"No."

"Really? But you always come!" Sakuya was surprised.

"Guess he's just not feelin' it," Banri shrugged, "see ya at the dorms then."

The two went in the direction of the cafeteria, while Masumi went the opposite way. He walked out of the school building and sat on a bench, thinking about that morning.

No matter how he tried to reason it, it hurt his brain. Not that it was hard to piece together, he just didn't want it to be true. 

_No… it's not fair,_ Masumi thought, _I could never get sick of her, why is she sick of me?_ he looked up to the sky, wondering if the sky ever fell in love. Wondering if the clouds ever got heartbroken. Soon, he didn't want to be alone with these thoughts, so he placed his headphones on his ears and listened to some rock music.

Soon the bell rang again, what was once his saving grace was now his dread. He groaned, not wanting to move from the bench, while slowly getting his stuff together and making his way back to the classroom.

The rest of his school day was staring at the teacher, answering questions, staring at the board, answering questions, switch classes, answering questions, he was getting tired of it. Usually thinking of Izumi made him feel better, but now it just made him feel even worse. What would normally feel like minutes now felt like hours.

Finally, school was over, and by extension the worst couple of hours in Masumi's life. He then thought, would all of his days be like this? Until Izumi thinks he's completely over her? He despised these thoughts which were put on hold when Sakyo drove up.

"Get in the car." Sakyo didn't even look at the boy he was talking to, causing the students around him to look concerned.

Masumi sighed and got into the car, anywhere was better then there. He stayed silent as he was staring out the window.

"How was school?" Sakyo asked, his tone oddly softer than usual.

"It was an absolute hell." Masumi spoke in an even more tired voice than that morning.

"Really now?" Sakyo smirked.

Masumi scoffed. "Why do you care?"

Sakyo kept his eyes on the road. "Just so we're clear, I'm only asking because Izumi told me to be less cruel to you."

Contrary to what Sakyo thought, Masumi didn't react at all. He turned to the boy only to see him keeping his gaze at the window. The blonde opened his mouth to say something, but decided to stay quiet and focus on getting home.

Once at the Mankai dorms, Masumi went straight to his room, skipping dinner. 

Omi looked worried. "Sakyo, did Masumi eat his lunch today?"

Sakyo turned to Omi, trying to recall. Then remembering that the boy's packed lunch looked untouched, he mouthed a swear to himself.

Omi sighed. "So, that's a no… I'll try and bring his dinner to him tonight." he started to focus on dinner preparations. "If he doesn't eat, that'll just make him worse."

Sakyo nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's true." he turned to see Banri and Sakuya talking.

"Wasn't Masumi acting weird today?" asked Sakuya, who was recalling how said member acted today.

"You mean weirder than usual?" Banri rolled his eyes, but did seem worried. "He didn't even eat or anything."

Sakyo listened to their conversation thoughtfully, maybe this situation was graver than he once thought.


	4. Newfound Passion

_ *Authors Note: When trying to format this fanfic for posting, I accidentally skipped this chapter and went straight to chapter 5. My apologies to those who took notice of this* _

_ Why do you act this way!? _

_ You're way too attached to me. _

_ I want you to focus on yourself and not me. _

The words Izumi spoke came to Masumi in his sleep as nightmares, keeping him tossing and turning in bed.

"Is he alright?" Tsuzuru had an unsure tone in his voice.

Sakyo walked up to the sleeping Masumi. "I don't care whether he is or not, he's waking up."

All it took was that to make Masumi jump out of his bed. "I don't want to go to school!"

It was at this point Tsuzuru became actually concerned for his roommate and terrified of the one monitoring him.

Sakyo sighed. "It's the weekend, yesterday was Friday."

Masumi gasped for air, finally a sign of relief. "Can I go back to bed?"

"Hell no, it's 10am." 

_ Dammit, _ Masumi thought as he reluctantly got up. 

"Get dressed and go to the dining room, I have something prepared for you." Sakyo checked his watch before walking out of the dorm, with Tsuzuru following behind him.

Masumi soon got dressed as he threw himself out the door and walked to the dining room. Who knew a bad day at school would feel the same as a hangover? He managed to get to the dining room for breakfast, only to find Winter Troupe members there.

"Ah, Masumi! Sakyo told us to wait for you." Azuma looked delighted and glimmering as always. "Why not sit with us?"

_ So, this is what he meant by what he said earlier, _ the boy thought as he sat next to Hisoka, who was asleep next to a cup of hot chocolate.

As Omi brought over breakfast, Tsumugi looked at the troubled Masumi with a thoughtful face. "We heard what had happened with Izumi," he gestured to his fellow members, "in fact, that's why we're here."

"How is breakfast going to help me?" Masumi took a bite of food.

Azuma chuckled. "Surely you can't be that stubborn, Masumi."

"We wanted to give you advice, and this is the best way to do it." Tasuku took a sip of water.

Masumi rested his head on his hand. "Advice about what?"

"Well," Tsumugi gave it some thought then smiled, "life, basically."

"Now, little Masumi," Homare jumped into the conversation, "as a fledgling you have a whole world to see! So, why only focus on one village?"

The boy seemed confused. "Are you telling me to move to a different country?"

"What I'm saying is you feel like you can do anything at that age." Homare spoke his words differently. "So why only pursue our dear director?"

"Because she is my whole world, duh."

Azuma looked curious. "Hmm, is that so? You have no interests besides her?"

"Nope."

"Not a single one?"

"Not at all."

"Well that's no good." Azuma shook his head.

Masumi tilted his head. "Why?"

"What if she gets tired of you..?" Hisoka spoke while half asleep. "What if she gets tired of you, and you have nothing else to do…?"

Homare's eyes widened. "Oh! Good point, Hisoka!" He gave him a marshmallow to keep him awake.

After fully chewing the marshmallow, Hisoka looked at Masumi. "But if you ask me… it sounds like that already happened."

Masumi was shocked, was Hisoka right? Was Izumi really tired of him? He shook his head out of disbelief. "That… you're wrong."

"Honestly, Hisoka's right. You have no other hobbies, passions, or anything," Tasuku stared right at black haired boy, "not related to Izumi, anyway."

Tsumugi looked at Tasuku as if to say, 'Hey, please don't be that harsh.' He then looked at Masumi. 

"It's good to have activities that you like," he smiled softly, "like, I enjoy taking care of flowers, Tasuku likes exercise, etc." He took another bite of food before speaking again. "Surely there must be something you enjoy."

"Seeing Izumi-"

"Not related to the director…" Hisoka sighed.

Masumi was speechless then, what could he possibly like just as much as Izumi? His mind went completely blank.

"Ah, now that you mention it," Homare pondered, "I've seen Masumi with headphones quite frequently." His eyes lit up. "Are you, perchance, a fan of the audible arts?"

Masumi shot a confused glance at the poet. "Do you mean music? I guess I like it…"

"You guess?" Azuma echoed. "I see you listening to music all the time!"

"True, but-"

"What kind of music do you like? Have you ever played an instrument?" Tsumugi asked.

"I haven't played an instrument before," Masumi replied, "but I listen to post and progressive rock a lot."

"Maybe your hobby could be that." Azuma smiled.

"Could be what?"

"Making music! Putting a song together would probably help you relax, right?" Azuma winked. "You do like music after all."

Masumi shrugged. "Like I said, dunno how to play an instrument. Besides there's none here."

"The manager is interested in music right?" Tasuku spoke up. "He's talked about it a lot recently."

Homare nodded. "Yes, yes, he has, hasn't he?" He turned to Masumi. "Now, go find the manager, your destiny awaits!"

Masumi sighed, of course Homare would be this dramatic. He slowly got off his chair and walked around the dorm, trying to remember where the manager's room was.

"Hello, hello, Emo!" A bird squawked, Masumi made a quick turn to it, who turned out to be Kamekichi.

"Who are you calling emo?"

"You, Emo!" Kamekichi ruffled his feathers.

"Hey that's enough!" Yelled the clumsy manager, Matsukawa. "Huh, Masumi? What're you doing here?" 

"Looking for you." Masumi had a blank expression on his face.

Matsukawa laughed it off as a joke. "Look, I don't know where Izumi is, so-"

"I'm not looking for her, I'm looking for you." 

"R-Really?" Matsukawa looked both nervous and confused. "What do you want me for?"

"You like music, right?"

"Yeah, I do. Why do you ask?"

"Do you have any instruments?"

Matsukawa's face lit up at the question. "Heck yes I do! I've collected all sorts of stuff back-in-the-day!"

"Can you teach me how to play?" Masumi couldn't care less, but he had no other choice. Since the Winter Troupe had naggers like Azuma and Homare.

Nonetheless of Masumi's intentions, Matsukawa excitedly dragged him to his room. There he had boxes filled with headphones and walls with different instruments, all well-maintained.

"So, which one do you want to play?" Matsukawa asked happily.

Masumi stared at the guitars. "Do you have an electric guitar?"

The manager nodded and pulled two off of the wall that were different colors, he handed the purple one to Masumi and then gave him the guitar pick for it. "That's so you can pull the strings without hurting your fingers." he informed, almost like a professional.

Masumi positioned the guitar in his hands while holding the pick. "So, what do I do?"

"Well, first you tune them and…" Matsukawa gave a whole lecture about tuning the guitar, playing it, making sure to clean it. He was like a living manual.

Masumi nodded while following along with what he said. "Okay, I think I got it."

Matsukawa couldn't stop smiling, finally someone showed an interest to what he liked. "Try playing it now."

The boy nodded and strummed the guitar, making a low sound. He continued to play different notes until finishing with a sudden strum. "How was that?"

"That was…." Matsukawa looked speechless, then clapped. "Amazing! To think you just learned how to play it!"

Masumi shrugged. "Thanks, I guess. By the way, you have paper and stuff?"

"Sure, why?"

"I want to write a song."

"Okay, here you go! You can keep the guitar too!"

"Thanks." Masumi took the supplies and made his way into his room.

"Go on, my apprentice." Matsukawa cried tears of joy, while Kamekichi sat on his shoulder.

"Crybaby!" he squawked.


	5. Chords of the Past

Masumi went into his dorm and sat on his bed, placing the guitar next to him. He picked up the sheets of paper and the pen, wondering what to write. Seeing no need for sheet music, given his impeccable memory, he decided to try and write lyrics.

He stared at the blank sheet for what felt like hours.  _ What could I possibly write about? _ he thought,  _ And something not related to her…  _

It was then he felt odd, like he finally realized he was just alone in his dorm. It was just him, the guitar, and the paper. He picked up the guitar and strummed a chord. 

"All alone…" he quietly sang. "On my own… it's just me and memories of long ago…" he nodded to himself and wrote what he just sang on the paper. He sat, thinking of what else to write, but then his mind wandered elsewhere.

It was a memory from his childhood, a little Masumi ran to his parents who had just come back from overseas. He smiled with joy, yet noticed his parents being dismissive of him. His mother was writing tasks down on her assistant's clipboard and his father was on the phone with a client. The toddler tried to hug them and get their attention but they didn't even notice.

The young Masumi decided to take a nap and wait until they weren't busy, but when he woke up he was met with his mother's assistant. She said his parents went overseas again and she was left to take care of him. Missing his parents even more, Masumi went into his room to cry.

The memory ended and Masumi stared at the floor. Remembering other times where his parents ignored him, he realized he never felt loved by them. They never asked him how was school, never took him out to play, they were barely ever there. When he got old enough to be home alone, his mother stopped sending her assistant to take care of him and instead gave him a monthly allowance to take care of himself. 

At the time, he didn't care. But now he was looking back at his life with distaste. Is that why he was so clingy? Because he never felt loved? He pondered this for a while.

"Hey, Masumi." Tsuzuru opened the door to check on his roommate. "Dinner is ready and Omi wants you to join us."

"Oh," Masumi looked surprised, "sure."

Tsuzuru nodded and went to the dining room, while the boy got up and noticed how worried his roommate looked. He then remembered the times where he belittled him or ignored him, he started to feel… bad about himself.

He tried to shake off the feeling as he followed Tsuzuru to the dining room, and was greeted with the sight of the Summer and Spring Troupes sitting down and eating. Masumi started to notice things he never did before, like how Sakuya smiled when eating a meal he liked. Or how Misumi's face lights up when he sees a triangle. Never before did he see Muku's love for manga, Tenma and Yuki's banter, or Citron's weird mess ups.

He stared at that table, and thought he could watch that delightful scene forever. How come he could never see this before? It was right in front of him the entire time. He then felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Tsuzuru asked while pointing to Masumi's seat. The boy nodded and sat there, and for the first time in his life truly felt a sense of belonging. He barely touched his food, as he was staring at his fellow actors and how happy they were. Masumi hummed to himself as he ate his food with a hidden glee.

"Masumi, did something happen?" Itaru asked, noticing his change in behavior. 

"No, not really." Masumi shook his head.

Itaru raised an eyebrow, confused. Before he could think about it, Misumi stood up on his chair holding a well-crafted onigiri.

"Yay! Triangle~! Triangle~!" the blue haired boy cheered, content with his breakfast. Seeing this, Masumi came close to chuckling, which only made Itaru more bewildered.

After breakfast was over, most of the boys went to do their own thing, but not Masumi. He simply sat in the chair with his head resting on his hand, reminiscing over what had just passed. The smiles on everyone's faces, the delicious food, how he finally felt happy for the first time in years.

He just sat there, wishing moments like these would last forever. Is this how Izumi felt everyday? Is this what she wanted him to see? 

A sudden thought came to the stream of good ones. All the things Izumi said to him about how he acted. Was he hurting Izumi, along with everyone else? She was the one who gave him this life, allowed him to finally feel happiness. He bit his lip, hating the thought of upsetting her.

What could he do?


	6. A New Spark

_ What could I do? _ Masumi thought. The question popped up in his mind again and again.

It was the dawn of the next day and he was already awake. He stared at the ceiling while in the comforts of his bed. Soon, the sounds of yawning and stretching from Tsuzuru could be heard as his footsteps approached Masumi's bed.

"Hey, wake up-" Tsuzuru paused when he realized his roommate was already awake. "You're… not sleeping in?"

"What do you mean 'sleeping in'?" Masumi yawned. "It's 5am, sleeping right now would be normal."

Tsuzuru stared with a flabbergasted look on his face. "...Then why aren't you sleeping?"

"Dunno." Masumi shrugged. "'Just don't feel like it."

The two fell silent, with Masumi not wanting to talk and Tsuzuru not being able to comprehend his change in behavior. Tsuzuru sighed, and was about to go get dressed when Masumi spoke up.

"Hey, Tsuzuru," he said in a tired voice, "back in our last plays, what did I do wrong?"

His roommate glanced back at him, wondering if the boy was truly serious. After awhile, he sat down at his desk chair and faced him. "I wouldn't say you 'did anything wrong,' it's just your attitude." Tsuzuru expressed.

"My attitude?"

"Yeah, you're nice to Izumi, and rude to everyone else." Tsuzuru crossed his arms. "During Romeo and Julius? Bluntly criticized everyone. During Alex in Wonderland? Purposely avoided Itaru." he sighed. "I can understand why Izumi had to put her foot down."

Masumi's eyes widened, not expecting an answer like the one just uttered. Was he truly that troublesome? He turned his gaze back to the ceiling, deep in thought.

Tsuzuru took this as his roommate being upset, his expression softened. "Ah, sorry. That was too much, wasn't it?"

Masumi shook his head. "No. It wasn't. I needed that actually."

Tsuzuru's surprise was painted across his face, though he was glad that a fight didn't break out again. With what he felt was a good conclusion, he stood up. "Good to hear that. Anyway, I need to get dressed."

Masumi turned back to Tsuzuru, tilting his head. "Why this early?"

"Sakuya asked me and the others if we could practice early today. It would keep us on top of things, that's for sure." Tsuzuru explained as he was picking clothes from his dresser.

"Can I come too?" Masumi asked eagerly and he got up from his bed.

Tsuzuru raised an eyebrow, getting more confused by the minute. "Of course. But, why though? You're not exactly thrilled about practice in general."

"I am now." Masumi quickly got his stuff together, trying to show his determination.

"...you're not doing any of this because the Director told you to, right?"

"I'm not. This is of my own will."

Tsuzuru stayed silent as a smile crept onto his face. He didn't know why, but hearing him of all people saying that brought him joy. He grabbed his gym clothes and went to the restroom to change.

A couple of minutes later, Sakuya and Citron were in the rehearsal room doing stretches when Tsuzuru walked in.

"Oh, Tsuzuru!" the pink haired boy smiled with cheer. His expression then dulled, noticing he came by himself. "So, Masumi didn't come?"

"Wrong." said member spoke up, standing at the doorway.

Sakuya walked up to Masumi, his eyes shining. "Masumi! You really came!"

He responded with a quiet nod as Citron joined in on their leader's happiness.

"Yes! It is a rare but jointed occasion!"

"You mean joyful, right?" Itaru walked into the rehearsal room, staring at the phone in his hand.

Citron pointed at Itaru. "Yes, that!"

Sakuya seemed to be brimming with joy. "Yay! Everyone's here!" he hurried over to a small table and grabbed a stack of scripts and passed them out. "All right, opening night is in a week," he smiled, "so I'm planning on doing practice sessions earlier than normal." He glanced across the room thoughtfully. "Is that alright with everyone?"

Citron nodded. "This should be no protein at all!"

"Problem. You mean problem." Tsuzuru sighed before looking to Sakuya. "And I don't mind practicing earlier, it would actually help a lot."

"Yeah, as long as it doesn't cut into my game time too much." Itaru had a dismissive tone as he messed around with his phone. He felt a painful stare from Tsuzuru as he looked up from the device with a nervous chuckle. "Maybe I could spend less time on gacha games…"

The troupe looked expectantly at Masumi as he returned their collective gaze. "Sure." he responded bluntly. Sakuya smiled, glad everyone was on board with the idea. He held up the script and opened it. 

"Alright, everyone! Let's start at the top!"

Hours were then spent going over the script. Usually Masumi would be begging for sleep, however, he instead felt reinvigorated. The others noticed this too, as he was more open with his critics but not as harsh. In fact, they came across as more helpful than insulting. For once, acting was fun for him, or maybe it was the first time he realized it.

Itaru took a deep breath from exhaustion as he peeked at the wall clock. "Uh, when did we start?"

Sakuya was wiping the sweat off his face with a towel before stopping to think. "Hmm… I think 6am?"

"Wow," Tsuzuru's eyes widened, "right now it's 10am…"

"We were practicing for four hours!?" Citron gasped. "That's surpassing!"

"...I feel like we should hire a tutor or something." Tsuzuru massaged his temples.

"It didn't feel like it was that long to be honest." Masumi stared at the clock.

"Really?" Itaru's tone was dripping with disbelief.

"Yeah." Though the black haired boy noticed this, he didn't elaborate.

"Oh, Omi should be done with breakfast by now!" Sakuya hummed. "Let's go!"

"K, guess that's our mission objective." Itaru jested lightheartedly.

Tsuzuru rolled his eyes playfully as Citron laughed at Itaru's joke.

Masumi stared at the group and their banter. He began to feel… separate from them somehow. He groaned at the thought as he soon followed the rest of his fellow members.

No, that wording didn't feel right to him.

He followed the rest of his friends.


End file.
